CHOICE HARDY BORDER PLANTS. 



89 



than the Christmas Roses. It is a family of plants 

 that has been greatly improved and added to in the 

 past few years. The Christmas Rose, or Helleborus 

 niger, is so called because it blooms at Christmas, 



year. As many of the Hellebores flower so early, 

 their value for decorative purposes or for cutting 

 from cannot be over-estimated ; they are thoroughly 

 hardy and very easily grown, and cannot be too 



Helleborus niger. 



and its flowers open like a Rose, and is also called 

 the Black Hellebore, because of the colour of its 

 leaves. The Hellebore has long been considered a 

 plant of evil omen, growing in dark and lonely 

 places ; but its blossoms are particularly bright, 

 cheerful, and acceptable at the dead season of the 



highly recommended. For cutting purposes in mid- 

 winter, the varieties of H. niger are invaluable, and 

 should be grown by every one. It is a good plan to 

 plant a bed with them, and then to place over it a 

 frame in November or December, or as soon as they 

 begin to show for flower ; this tends to keep the 



